City · Providence County, Rhode Island

Cranston, Rhode Island

Cranston is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, part of the Providence-Warwick, RI-MA metro area. It has 83,250 residents. Cranston, Rhode Island has a quality-of-life score of 79 out of 100 (high), ranking #3,335 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Rhode Island it ranks #17 of 27 cities and towns. It ranks best on distance to an emergency room (low), distance to an Amtrak station (low) and firearm deaths (low). It ranks worst on time spent in the emergency room (high), child care cost burden (high) and loneliness (high).

79High

Quality-of-life score: #3,335 of 15,651 cities and towns
Rhode Island: #17 of 27 in RI
Population: 83,250 (2020-2024)
Land area: 28 mi²
Density: 2,937.0 /mi²
FIPS code: 4419180

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 76 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety75#3,849/15,637
Economy48#8,135/15,631
Housing50#7,550/14,977
Health74#4,090/15,609
Healthcare81#2,951/15,650
Environment93#1,121/15,453
Education38#9,728/15,649
Infrastructure80#3,144/15,650
Community50#7,760/15,651
Leisure & amenities82#2,890/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Cranston, Rhode Island ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Providence County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Distance to an emergency room · low2.7 mi
96/100Rhode Island 3.4 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesProvidence County value
Distance to an Amtrak station · low5 mi
95/100Rhode Island 7 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauProvidence County value
Firearm deaths · low3.6 /100k
94/100Rhode Island 4.1 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataProvidence County value
Mental health providers · high611 /100k
93/100Rhode Island 541 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteProvidence County value
Access to exercise opportunities · high98.2%
93/100Rhode Island 96.1%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteProvidence County value
Suicide rate · low7.7 /100k
93/100Rhode Island 10.4 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataProvidence County value

Weaknesses

Time spent in the emergency room · high233 min
7/100Rhode Island 222 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesProvidence County value
Child care cost burden · high39.7%
10/100Rhode Island 32.1%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteProvidence County value
Loneliness · high37.3%
13/100Rhode Island 36.0%United States 33.2%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Voter turnout · low58.2%
18/100Rhode Island 63.2%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionProvidence County value
Job growth · low-1.3%
22/100Rhode Island -0.6%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataProvidence County value
Reading scores · low2.87
24/100Rhode Island 3.03United States 3.052019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteProvidence County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

Broadband subscriptionsImproving
85.9% (2015-2019) → 91.9% (2020-2024)
+6 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$72,017 (2015-2019) → $90,206 (2020-2024)
+25%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Home price to income ratioWorsening
3.4× (2015-2019) → 4.2× (2020-2024)
+24%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
33.2% (2015-2019) → 36.4% (2020-2024)
+3.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
New homes permittedImproving
0.6 /1k (2021) → 0.7 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+13%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Uninsured residents (under 65)Worsening
4.0% (2015-2019) → 6.3% (2020-2024)
+2.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Cranston, Rhode Island improved on 4 of 15 measures with a comparison and declined on 5. 6 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved4

Property tax−0.6 points1.89% → 1.30%
Bachelor's++3.2 points33.2% → 36.4%
Household income+25%$72,017 → $90,206
Broadband+6 points85.9% → 91.9%

Declined5

Unemployment+1.8 points4.3% → 6.1%
Uninsured+2.3 points4.0% → 6.3%
Price / income+0.8×3.4× → 4.2×
Inequality+0.0220.418 → 0.440
Transit use−1.9 points3.1% → 1.2%

All 15 measures

Change of every measure of Cranston, Rhode Island between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	23.2 min2015-2019	24.3 min2020-2024	+1.1 min	Within the margin of error	35%
Bachelor's degree or higher	33.2%2015-2019	36.4%2020-2024	+3.2 points	Improved	54%
Broadband subscriptions	85.9%2015-2019	91.9%2020-2024	+6 points	Improved	38%
Child poverty rate	12.1%2015-2019	10.3%2020-2024	−1.8 points	Within the margin of error	55%
Effective property tax rate	1.89%2015-2019	1.30%2020-2024	−0.6 points	Improved	94%
High school diploma or higher	89.9%2015-2019	89.8%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	32%
Home price to income ratio	3.4×2015-2019	4.2×2020-2024	+0.8×	Declined	30%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4182015-2019	0.4402020-2024	+0.022	Declined	32%
Median household income	$72,0172015-2019	$90,2062020-2024	+25%	Improved	45%
Poverty rate	8.7%2015-2019	10.2%2020-2024	+1.5 points	Within the margin of error	30%
Public transit commuters	3.1%2015-2019	1.2%2020-2024	−1.9 points	Declined	14%
Rent as share of income	29.3%2015-2019	28.8%2020-2024	−0.5 points	Within the margin of error	59%
Rent-burdened households	48.3%2015-2019	47.3%2020-2024	−1 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Unemployment rate	4.3%2015-2019	6.1%2020-2024	+1.8 points	Declined	19%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	4.0%2015-2019	6.3%2020-2024	+2.3 points	Declined	23%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Cranston, Rhode Island five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Cranston, Rhode Island in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Cranston, Rhode Island itself moved −1.8 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

83,250 residents (±48)

Men
Women

80 and over
70–79
60–69

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

32,595 households (±787)

Cranston, Rhode Island
Rhode Island share

Under $25k16%5,103
$25k–50k12%3,884
$50k–75k15%4,924

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

32,595 households (±787)

Cranston, Rhode Island
Rhode Island share

Own68%22,047
Rent32%10,548

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

41,976 workers (±1,219)

Cranston, Rhode Island
Rhode Island share

Drive alone73%30,499
Carpool10%4,328
Public transit1.2%†511

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Providence-Warwick, RI-MA

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Providence County, the county holding most of Cranston's residents.

Providence County has 16,414 employer establishments, 247 for every 10,000 residents (0.99× the US rate of 248; 0.92× Rhode Island's), with 273,731 paid employees at an average annual pay of $63,100. The Census Bureau also counts 58,378 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 16,414; 58,378 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 247; US 248 · Rhode Island 268
Paid employees: 273,731
Average annual pay: $63,100; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Providence County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Restaurants and other eating places	1,453	21.8	1.19×About typical	22,062	$25,688	321
Specialty trade contractors	1,281	19.3	1.24×About typical	8,830	$76,357	3,280
Ambulatory health care services	1,189	17.9	0.86×About typical	19,642	$72,324	2,497
Services to buildings and dwellings	641	9.6	1.43×More than typical	4,023	$50,733	2,999
Lessors of real estate	640	9.6	0.78×Fewer than typical	2,413	$64,576	5,139
Full-service restaurants	618	9.3	1.21×About typical	11,488	$27,974	142
Construction of buildings	586	8.8	1.16×About typical	3,672	$86,422	1,617
Limited-service restaurants	563	8.5	1.05×About typical	6,958	$24,228	119
Legal services	506	7.6	1.41×More than typical	3,170	$96,615	527
Building equipment contractors	490	7.4	1.22×About typical	4,087	$77,070	592
Automotive repair and maintenance	412	6.2	1.23×About typical	2,359	$54,707	594
Offices of other health practitioners	396	6	0.98×About typical	2,307	$60,848	1,335

Rank places for an industry Open Providence County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 665,393 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $8.8M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Cranston, Rhode Island: $106 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $8.8M; −58% vs FY2025
Per resident: $106; US $1,994
Sole-source: 20%; US 30%
Single offer: 12%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Department of the Navy$5.1M57%
Defense Logistics Agency$3.1M35%
Federal Acquisition Service$525.3K5.9%
Department of the Army$195.8K2.2%
Department of Veterans Affairs$131.4K1.5%
Indian Health Service$42.2K0.5%

Top recipients

SYQWEST LLC$5.1M57%
FAIRWINDS TECHNOLOGIES LLC$1.3M15%
IRA GREEN INC$1.1M13%
T.W. EVANS CORDAGE CO. INC.$601.7K6.8%
INTERNATIONAL INSIGNIA CORPORATION$458.9K5.2%

Spending by fiscal year

12.4MFY2017
10.2MFY2018
8.6MFY2019
11.2MFY2020
5.8MFY2021
6.4MFY2022
6.4MFY2023
11.1M

Top industries (NAICS)

Navigational, measuring, electromedical, and control instruments manufacturing · 3345$3.5M39%
Other chemical product and preparation manufacturing · 3259$1.6M18%
Semiconductor and other electronic component manufacturing · 3344$1.3M15%
Other textile product mills · 3149$1M12%
Other miscellaneous manufacturing · 3399$825K9.3%
Medical equipment and supplies manufacturing · 3391$241.2K

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Cranston, Rhode Island

MK48 HEAVYWEIGHT TORPEDO SOURCE AND SENSOR KITS$6.9M
SYQWEST LLC· Providence County, RI· Weapons, aircraft, ships & vehicles· Jul 30, 2025 – Nov 14, 2025· N6660425C0562
HYDROPHONE,SONAR$1.3M
FAIRWINDS TECHNOLOGIES LLC· Providence County, RI· Other equipment & supplies· Oct 14, 2025 – May 4, 2026· SPRMM126FE604
TR-341 TRANSDUCERS.$1.2M
SYQWEST LLC· Providence County, RI· Other equipment & supplies· Apr 29, 2026 – Apr 29, 2026· N6660426FA205
THE CONTRACTOR SHALL PRODUCE SUBSAFE AND LEVEL 1 TR-317 SERIES HULL PENETRATOR ASSEMBLIES HARDWARE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE BASIC CONTRACT SOW, ATTACHMENT 2.

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Cranston, Rhode Island, so they do not add up across cities.

Cranston, Rhode Island's figures are part of those of Providence County, RI ($106.2M in FY2026), never added to them: 8.3% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Cranston is mostly in Providence County.

See federal money in Providence County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Cranston, Rhode Island is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Providence County73100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Providence-Warwick, RI-MA80

Other cities and towns in Providence County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/4419180

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends